(Adapted from my book Backroads and Byways of Georgia.)
The Chief Vann House is an elegant, two-and-a-half story, brick mansion built in 1804 by wealthy Cherokee Indian Chief James Vann, who also owned a hundred slaves and more than a thousand acres in what is now Murray County. In 1805, Vann opened his home to Moravian missionaries to hold one of the first Christmas celebrations in the Cherokee Nation.
James Vann was murdered in 1809, and the property passed to his son Joseph, who, with other Cherokees, was forced out of the area in 1834. A bloody battle between claimants to the house ensued. The structure gradually deteriorated over the years until 1952, when it was purchased by a group of concerned citizens, given to the Georgia Historical Commission, and restored to its original grandeur.
The Vann House features beautiful hand carvings, an unusual "floating" staircase, a 12-foot mantle, and fine antiques. The plantation also included 95 log outbuildings, none of which survives; however the Cherokee Farmstead Exhibit at the site is made up of original 1800s Cherokee outbuildings moved from other locations.
The house and grounds are open for tours Thursday through Saturday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m.--5 p.m., with the last tour at 4:15 p.m. Admission is $6.50 for adults, $6 for seniors, and $5:50 for ages 6 to 17.
If you enjoy my photographs, you can see more of them in my online gallery at https://davejenkins.pixels.com/ Looking is free, and, who knows? You might find something you want to keep.
The second edition of my book, Backroads and Byways of Georgia will be released in June, 2023.
Photograph and text copyright 2022 David B.Jenkins.
I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.
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